Fireplace



Sept. 22, 1942. us 2,296,354

FIREPLACE Filed Jan. 28, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet l z'zwardgzz'wa mm ATTORNEYSept. 22, 1942. E, KRAUs 2,296,354

FIREPLACE Filed Jan. 28, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IraZlQImvEN-rorw ATTOR NEY Patented Sept. 22, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FIREPLACEEdward'H. Kraus, Oceanport, N. 1.

Application January 28, 1941, Serial No. 376,369

1 Claim.

My invention relates-to new and useful improvements in fireplaceconstructions.

An important object of my invention is toprovide a fireplaceconstruction having means for retarding and regulating the fiow ofburned products of combusion from the fire box and including means fordirecting a large portion of the wasted heat normally passing up theflue into the room containing the fireplace.

Another object of my invention is to provide a fireplace construction ofthe above-mentioned character wherein the means for absorbing thesurplus heat and for directing the same into the room includes a waterpan for humidifying the air.

Still another object of my invention is to pro vide a fireplaceconstruction of the above-mentioned character that includes apparatusfor forcing a current of air through the heat absorbing means whereby toincrease the heat absorbing capacity of the means and to aid in thedispersion of the heat through the room.

Other objects and advantages of my invention, will be apparent duringthe course oi the following description.

In the drawings, forming a part of this specification, and wherein likenumerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the same,

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a fireplace construction embodying myinvention,

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 2--2 of Figure1,

i Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 3-3 ofFigure 2,

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 2, but illustrating a slightmodification of the fireplace construction,

Figure 5 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 5,i of Figure4, and

Figure 6 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of a cleaning screenembodying a part of my invention. i

In the accompanying drawings. wherein for the purpose of illustration,is shown a preferred embodiment of my invention, the numeral Illdesignates a fireplace of. conventional shape and construction. Thefireplace may be constructed of bricks. as illustrated in the drawings,or of any other building materials suitable for the purpose. A concretebase it preferably underlies the fireplace and a layer of fire brick I2is placed on top of the base, whichfire brick comprise the box, whichhousing separates the fire box from thefiue' thereby making it necessaryfor all of the burned products of combustion passing from i the fire boxto the flue to pass through the housmg. The housing is of essentiallybox-like formation and extends the full width of the fireplace. Thebottom wall 2l extends from the front wall ii of the fireplace to therear wall 22 of the fire box and the marginal edge abutting the wall 22is supported by a projecting integral portion 22. The projection 23 isformed with a fiat upper face 24 which receives the wall 2| and anarcuately curved bottom face 25 which curves upwardly and inwardly todirect the heat and fiames in the fire box forwardly through the opening26 in the bottom wall 2|.

A transverse partition 21 divides the housing into an upper compartment28 and a lower compartment 29, the rearward portion of which partitioncurves upwardly to integrally connect with the upper wall 30. As bestillustrated in Figure 2, the forward end of the lower compartment isclosed by the wall 3| and the rearward end thereof opens directly intothe fiue it. Thus, the burned products of combustion from the fire boxwill enter the forward end of the lower compartment through the opening26 and will traverse the entire depth of the compartment beforedischarging into the fiue l9. As the heated air from the fire box risesinto the compartment it will impinge against the partition 21. and, byreason of the fact that the opening 26 is located at the front of thelower compartment, the burned products of combustion will be deflectedby the partition into the flue it. Thus, the forward positioning of theopening 26 will cause all of the burned products of combustion passinginto the fiueto contact the partition 21 to evenly heat the entiresurface of the same.

hearth or bottom I: of the fire box u. The fireplace is preferably builtinto one wall of a room In order to permit the flow of burned productsof combustion through the lower compartment 29 to be selectivelyregulated, I have mountand the structure III is of generally box-likefor-, ed a d p 3 therein, which damper extends the full width of thecompartment and when in the upright vertical position extends the fulldepth of the compartment. The damper is mounted for rotation with theshaft 33 and is located directly rearwardly of the opening 26 wherebymovement of the damper to the vertical position will entirely separatethe fire box from the flue. Obviously, the damper may be positioned atany selected angle from the horizontal to the vertical to open or closecommunication between the fire box and flue and the selected adjustedpositon will determine the rate of flow of the burned products ofcombustion through the compartment. One end of the shaft 33 extendsthrough the end wall of the housing, which extending portion carries acircular gear 34 which meshes with the worm gear 35 on the actuatingshaft 36. The shaft 36 extends into the fireplace in parallel relationwith the mentioned end of the housing annd the portion thereofprojecting beyond the wall l of the fireplace is provided with a handle31 by means of whichthe shaft 38 may be manually rotated to effectangular movement of the damper 32 on the shaft 33. The rate of flow ofthe burned products of combustion traversing the lower compartment 29may thus be retarded to permit thhe partition 21 to be heated to amaximum degree. Heating of the partition will cause the air in the uppercompartment 28to be heated, which compartment opens into the roomcontaining the fireplace through the screen 38 closing the open frontend thereof. As best illustrated in Figure 1, a horizontal passage 39extends transversely of the fireplace and its opposite ends open throughthe end wall ll of the fireplace and through the adjacent end wall ofthe compartment 28. A motor 40 is mounted in the passage and thearmature shaft 4l extending from the motor housing has a fan 42 mountedthereon. A vertical conduit 43 extends from the passage and through thebase ll of the fireplace to receive the electrical conductors 44 whichextend from a current source to the motor.

When the fan is in operation, air will be drawn from the room anddischarged into the upper compartment 28 and the baffles 45, 46 and 41will deflect the same through the screen 38 closing the open front endof the compartment. The motor may be manually operated by a switch 48,as illustrated in Figure l, or it may be thermostatically controlled inaccordance with the exigencies of any particular situation or with'thewishes of the operator. As illustrated in Figure 3, the baffles 45, 46and 41 are of gradually increasing length in a direction away from thepassage 39. All of the baflles are carried by the screen 38 and each ofthe baflles curves rearwardly thereof and in the direction of thepassage. The baille 45 located in closest proximity to the passage isrelatively short and the distal edge thereof projects only slightlyacross the passage. The next baffle 48 extends further into thecompartment and the last bafile 4'! extends yet further into thecompartment whereby the current of air from the fan will contact theinner margin of each of the baffles and be directed forwardly throughthe screen.

A screen 49 closes the end of the passage opening through the end wall11 and the mesh of the screen sack 50 carried thereby is preferablyessentially fine to filter dust, and the like, from the air as it isdrawn from the room by the fan. The rate of flow of the air traversingthe passage may be selectively regulated by the damper member 5|disposed transversely of the passage and mounted for rotation with theshaft 52'. One

' end of the shaft extends forwardly through the front wall l5 of thefireplace to permit manual rotation thereof and selective adjustment ofthe damper.

In operation, it will be seen that the burned products of combustionfrom the fire box must traverse the entire surface of the partition 21and that the rate of flow of the products may be selectively regulatedby the damper 32. The damper should be adjusted to permit a suflicientdraft to reach the fire box to maintain a hot fire therein, but in aposition to sufilciently retard the flow of the burned products ofcombustion to effect maximum heating of the partition. The current ofair blown through the upper compartment 28 by the fan 42 will absorb theheat from the partition whereby the air blown through the front screen38 will be essentially warm. Thus, in addition to the heat thrown intothe room in the conventional manner by the fire box l4, additional heatwill be provided by the current of air traversing the upper compartment28. This additional heat will be provided by the burned products ofcombustion that rises from the fire box and which would ordinarily passup the fiue I9. The housing, therefore, does not lower or in any wayreduce the normal heating capacity of the fire box but merely utilizesthe heat that is normally wasted. It is obvious that the amount of heatthat may be absorbed by the partition 21 will depend upon the volume ofair flowing through the upper compartment.

Figures 4 and 5 illustrate a modified form of the invention wherein asecond passage 53 extends through the end wall l6 of the fireplace andthrough the adjacent wall of the compartment 28, Thus, the current ofair from the fan may flow through the passage 39 through the uppercompartment 28 and back into the room through the passage 53. In thisform of the invention, the baflles rise vertically from the partition21. The upper edges of the bailles are coextensive and terminate inspaced relation with the upper wall 38 to support a water pan 54 and apipe 55 opens through the wall 30 of the housing and front wall l5 ofthe fireplace to permit water to be easily introduced into the pan. Inthis form of the invention, I prefer that the lower edge of the screen38 be attached to the housing by means of a hinge 58, or the like, andthat the upper edge thereof be provided with a suitable keeper 51adapted to hold the same in a normally closed position. A chain 58 isconnected to the inner face of the screen and to the side wall of thehousing which chain passes through a suitable catch 59 to permit thescreen to be moved to any selectively angular position, in the mannerillustrated in Figure 4.

The operation of this form of the invention is so similar to the formhereinabove-described that no further explanation is thought to benecessary.

' The current of air from the fan will be heated and deflected upwardlyagainst the water pan 54 by the baffles in the upper compartment of thehousing. The heated air will heat the water within the pan to .humidifythe air within the room. The air may have egress from the compartmentthrough either the passage 53 or taken as a preferred example of thesame, and that various changes in the size, shape and arrangement ofparts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of myinvention, or scope of the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, I claim: In a fireplace constructionincluding a fire box and a flue, a housing located at the top of thefire box and having a transverse partition for dividing the housing intoan upper compartment and a lower compartment, said partition curvingupwardly to provide a rear wall of the upper compartment adjacent saidflue, said lower compartment communicating with said flue at itsrearward end and having an'opening at its forward end communicatingwithsaid fire box, said upper compartment having an opening in communicationwith a room, a damper located in the lower compartment rearwardly ofsaid opening for controlling the passage of burned products ofcombustion into said flue, said damper being located underneath saidpartition and arranged to deflect the burned products of combustionuniformly thereagainst, said fire box structure being provided with apassage placing said upper compartment in communication with roomatmosphere, means for forcibly flowing room air through said passage andthrough said upper compartment and into the room, a water pan mounted insaid upper compartment, and baffle members inside the upper compartmentfor directing air currents about said water pan.

EDWARD H. KRAUS.

